Life Seasons

 To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven. 

Ecclesiastes 3: 1, NKJV 

There is some truth to the old saying that nothing lasts forever.  What is here today, tomorrow will be gone.  No day is the same, for the most part.  I was thinking of the seasons of life this week as I go through my own season.  While it has been difficult, I'm assured that the future will be better.  For God has promised me a future and a hope {Jeremiah 29:11}.  One thing I am sure of is that the Father never intended for me to live in a constant state of trouble and disappointment.  These troubling seasons which we often encounter are but moments in time.  I realize that this might not be too reassuring to someone who is battling a difficult season of their own, but consider the words of Jesus .  Jesus asks us to consider how the Father cares for the birds of the air, who do not sow nor reap.  How much more consequence, He asks, are we {Matthews Account 6:26}?  Those who work the land know all to well the value of the seasons.  I have a dear friend who was raised in farming and working the land.  He has been one of my most staunch brothers, and the reasons I began to see the Lord Christ Jesus in me.  The writer of the book of Ecclesiastes proclaims that for everything there is a season {Ecclesiastes 3:1}.  This message is so strong, that the band the Byrds turned it into a popular song.  Indeed, if the Father has given us a future and a hope, then the season of difficulty we suddenly find ourselves in will not last forever.  Some will argue and say that the hope which He has given is our salvation through Christ Jesus.  Yes, that is entirely true, but I believe that it goes deeper than that.  It is never the Fathers intent to discourage, but to encourage.  We may feel discouraged as we go through life's difficult seasons, but as any farmer knows, a season is but a moment in time.  

You should not, then, be worrying about the morrow, for the morrow will be worrying of itself.  Sufficient for the day is its own evil. 

Matthews Account 6: 34, Concordant New Testament 

Looking upon the scriptures, it's not surprising that we see much more words of encouragement from the word than we do discouragement.  I have often turned to the scriptures for words of comfort when the seasons of life become too much to bear.  One of my favorites is the words of Jesus as He invites those who are enduring their own season to take His burden and lay theirs upon Him {Matthews Account 11:30}.  There is a reason that Jesus invites us to take His burden instead of ours, for His burden is lighter.  Something I learned from the farmer is that we live each day with the indwelling spirit of Jesus in us.  The apostle Paul speaks to this indwelling Christ in Galatians {Paul To The Galatians 2:20}.  So, if Jesus asks us to unload our burdens upon Him, He is all too familiar with the stress of the seasons of life that we endure.  There is a good reason by which Jesus spoke of the perils of worrying over our troubles, because He knew of the physical effects that worry can bring upon us.  Who hasn't been victim to the old adage of worrying themselves sick?  I know I have.  In that season we worry, fret and despair over what might be.  But Jesus is there within us, inviting us to place those worries upon Him.  Not only that, when we place our worries upon Jesus, we can rest assured that not only has the Father promised our salvation, but also a future and a hope.  

~Scott~